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The Rise of eSports
I may be dating myself here… wait, scratch that. I am literally dating myself here, but when I was ten years old a movie came out called The Wizard, starring The Wonder Years’ Fred Savage and sponsored heavily by Nintendo. The story revolved around a pair of brothers on a cross-country journey to make it to the “Video Armageddon” video game championships in California to compete for a prize or something-or-other, it was all quite cliche but for my Super Mario-obsessed brain, it was incredible.
The concept that there were such things as “Video Game Championships” that thousands of people watched and participated in on the level of professional sports teams literally blew my mind. Little did I know that the first “Nintendo World Championships” of video games actually happened a year after the movie came out and was much less of an event than the movie had depicted and growing up in rural Vermont before the internet meant that even had there been a Video Armageddon every year, my elite skills in The Legend of Zelda would never get me there no matter how many times I got the Triforce.
Competitive electronic gaming or as it’s known today ‘eSports’ is clearly not new, but around the turn of the century when higher-speed internet became widely available, multiplayer games such as Counterstrike, Starcraft and League of Legends among many others spurred the development of national and international tournaments with cash prizes, scholarships, sponsored teams and finally the kind of recognition and following that allow someone to be an eSports athlete full-time.
When it began, amateur competitions drew a few thousand fans in person and over the Internet. In October 2013, 32 million people watched the championship of Riot Games’ League of Legends on streaming services such as Twitch and YouTube. That’s more viewers than the 2013 NBA Finals and MLB World Series combined.
Streaming services also provide a platform to earn big money for content creators. Twitch streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins recently revealed that he makes $500,000 per month streaming gameplay on Twitch but he cautions people eager to make money playing video games,
“You can’t just drop everything to focus on playing video games for a living. It’s also becoming a very competitive career choice. You want to make sure you’re securing your future while putting the extra time to make this happen as well.”
So where is this headed? The International Olympic Committee just made moves that may introduce eSports into the Olympic Games in the future, making statements addressing the challenges in dealing with the violent themes in many competitive games, and the strong male-heavy gender imbalance in the current pool of eSports athletes, neither of which reflect on the spirit of the Olympics. Regardless of this, the IOC officially recognized eSports as an actual sport in November, paving the way for big moves in the future.
As of yet, there’s no word on whether using the Power Glove™ would be considered an illegal performance-enhancement but I’ll be in training just in case.
What’s a scam? Are you being bamboozled?
Far too many times a day I hear the complaint, “I was just browsing the web and all of a sudden something popped up on my screen telling me my computer was infected and told me to call a number for support in order to clean it out!” Ring a bell? Maybe you or someone you know has experienced this. Many users go so far as to allow remote access from a support representative when they called because the person on the other end ensures them they will fix their computer. Often times remote-control support software is installed and the support person will start moving the cursor, opening applications and typing things in the terminal and navigating to strange websites. This leaves the user feeling as though whatever was claimed to be wrong with their computer is being fixed. Unfortunately, in many cases, it’s a form of a scam to get you to agree to some one time fee to resolve the issue or maybe get you to agree to a monthly fee for monitoring designed to ensure your machine is never infected again. While in many cases this software does provide some minimal support, the bottom line is, your computer is never going to provide you with a phone number to call from a company you haven’t signed up with for security monitoring.
Unless YOU installed the software this is just a crafty form of malware designed to get some money from you. As Mac users, we aren’t plagued as much as Windows PCs by actual trojans and viruses but that doesn’t mean all users of Apple hardware can’t be annoyed by spyware and malware. Even iPads and iPhones have been known to get these kinds of pop-ups that are often a form of ransomware making the user feel like they have to pay a fee to gain access to their devices.
Apple holds itself to a very high standard when it comes to protecting it’s user’s privacy in many ways and does everything they can to protect your personal data. You have multiple levels of protection on your side like FileVault encryption and a solid pre-configured firewall on your side. You’ve got intelligent pop-up blockers and security warnings built into not only Safari but most industry standard browsers. You have the ability to block cookies and disable flash on websites, block any unidentified apps from running, clear your cache and browsing history. Even reinstall your entire operating system if it comes to that, these are tools provided with EVERY Apple desktop and laptop and have been for years upon years.
No one can completely guarantee your machine won’t become “infected” by these kinds of intrusive programs. Browsing the web and using social media is inherently dangerous for all kinds of reasons, but you can use best practices to try and avoid these issues. Sure, we can recommend that you install an Ad-Blocker and reset your browser often, making sure to delete any unauthorized extensions you may have unknowingly allowed in. You can run apps like MalwareBytes, CCleaner or ClamXAV among others to automatically remove known adware and malware. These are all stop-gap measures, your best defense is taking a moment to evaluate before you make a call, click or open an e-mail. There is still no better defense than second guessing and not opening something you are unsure of.
Some folks use TOR, VPNs or a combination of the two to abstract their location from the servers they’re trying to access. Apple always recommends you keep updating your system when updates come out to ensure you have their latest security measures and vulnerabilities patched. We have started providing our Adware Removal service as a response to a large number of concerned users after having fallen victim to some of these instances of unknowing allowing someone unknown to access their computer and helping provide them with peace of mind that their data and information is once again secure. We hope that the time comes we don’t need to offer these services, but, as computers evolve so will ways to catch folks off guard!
Yo, Tech Tails readers!
The last edition you may remember I signed off with a quip about an early Spring on the way and the end of the snowy weather. Well, as fate would have it, I was wrong (much to Art’s amusement). And Mother Nature doesn’t appear to be letting up on the snow anytime soon. I guess that’s how it goes! But I’m still counting down the days to Summer while enjoying the Winter sunshine. Fortunately, the frigid temperatures weren’t enough to keep me from enjoying the weekend and a nice long walk with the pups yesterday afternoon.
It’s been an exciting morning here in Waitsfield as we’ve been playing with the Homepod! I must say, I had my doubts regarding the sound quality and if it could rival that of the Sonos Play: 1’s, but after hearing what just a single Homepod unit can put out, I’m happy to say I’ve been swayed and will definitely find myself investing in one or two very soon. Furthermore, I was impressed that I was able to successfully call upon Siri from across our showroom floor with the music at max volume! Apple has certainly made their presence known in the home-audio market and I am eagerly awaiting more developments and evolution from them within the market.
We’ve got a solid issue of Tech Tails for you this week, and as always I hope you can take away some insight from it. A short introduction from me this week as I battle a stubborn head-cold, but I’ll resume my lengthy ramblings next edition. And perhaps it’ll be sunny and 65º here in Waitsfield by then. Alright, maybe that’s overambitious. Fingers crossed!
Keep fighting the good fight, Tech Tails readers!
Connor “Wake Me When It’s 80º” McGinnis
connormcginnis@smalldog.com
Big Thoughts On Shopping Small
Have you ever found yourself in a store, wandering up and down the aisles, looking endlessly for assistance? After searching for what seems like forever, you finally come across a sales associate. They try to convince you to buy one machine when you have already expressed what you are looking for. You decide to leave the store and regroup. Perhaps you go back to the store a week later and repeat the cycle of searching for an associate, asking questions about the computer you wish to purchase. But you find yourself in the same position of feeling pressured into a machine. If this experience sounds familiar, you might just be shopping at the wrong store.
There are a lot of benefits of visiting you’re small, local Apple reseller versus the big box stores. Box stores work with a lot of different brands of computers, cameras, TVs etc but having too many items to keep track of makes the big stores “jacks of all trades, masters of none.” If you walk into Small Dog or your local Authorized Reseller you probably have a feel of being in an Apple store and not just because you’re surrounded by the Apple ecosystem when you walk through the doors. As an Apple Premier Partner, we are held to some pretty high standards by Apple. We all take regular training courses, we ensure that our stores have a feel unique to us while also making sure we are representing the brand we love to the highest standards.
Associates should strive to build a relationship with their customers, after all, it’s because of customers that we are here! But while shopping online, you don’t build a relationship at all. The idea with large retail stores is to get customers in, buy something, and quickly get them out so more customers can come in. I have been working at Small Dog Electronics for over 5 years. I remember countless customers. It’s the same for my co-workers. This is why many of our customers come in and always look for the associate they’ve spent the most time with; we take that extra time to get to know you, proper techniques, and product information to ensure that we recommend the right solution.
Since I’ve worked for bigger businesses that have left a bitter taste in my mouth, I really could go on about the benefits of shopping small. Working in retail for a decade has made me hyper aware of what works and what doesn’t work in my shopping experience. When I go into a small business that far exceeds the customer service I receive at similar big box stores, it is worth every extra penny to support that business; because people deserve a shopping experience that leaves them feeling confident. And I’m happy to be part of a team that instils that confidence in our customers.
Plex Server
Rural Vermont is one of my favorite things about this beautiful state. I really enjoy being a little removed from the bustle of a busy city, but there are some inconveniences. Being a techie the biggest issue is internet speed as frequently we have only one option for an Internet Service Provider (ISP) and they can be SLOW. Speed is even more of an issue when you’re trying to watch TV through some streaming service and you get constant buffering, interrupting that hypnotic flow of your show.
Long ago, before streaming, I switched to buying boxed sets of DVDs. Over the years I have built up a very respectable collection, but it got to the point where it was hard to manage, and I often couldn’t find what I was looking for. This problem was solved for my music years before with iTunes as I could take the songs from all my CDs, put them in my computer and have this organized juke box where I could pull anything up on demand. If only I could do this with my videos.
I have found the solution to slow internet, but this comes with a great many technical issues. Ripping the video content from DVDs, and now the superior quality Blu-Rays, is a hassle when even possible, and then you could end up with a huge file. Multiply that by however many movies and boxed sets you have and you might get quite the unwieldily database, spanning across multiple hard drives (HDDs).
There are many different ways to manage a video database in your home, but my personal favorite is Plex. (Plex.tv) I’ve tried iTunes, and while it was perfectly functional I had to have the videos in an iTunes compatible format and then I had to manually enter in all the data about the video content. Plex takes care of all this data, assuming the file is named properly.
There is a wonderful Plex app for the iPhone that works very nicely with the Plex Server app on the mac, as well as a beautiful App for the Apple TV 4th Gen. It’s worth checking out, but, be warned, it could become quite the project.
Is It Hardware or Software?
We have all been there before, and for those that haven’t, you most certainly will be in time. We grab our Apple devices, hit the power button, and things do not go as planned. “It is broken!” we exclaim. But is it software or hardware? This is an extremely important question we all must ask ourselves when in this situation. But what does this mean? Well, it is simple really…. Is this issue we are experiencing caused by corrupted software or a mechanical malfunction? This an extremely important question that must first be answered so that the correct steps can be taken toward resolving the issue. How do we go about answering this question? Well, the simplest way to find the answer would be to go ahead and attempt some troubleshooting in the problem space of software that we as end users are responsible for maintaining.
Assuming the issue is software related is the first and easiest step we can take in attempting to resolve our issues as software corruption is the only issue that we as end users have the capability to fix all by ourselves without the need for tech support. When software is suspected as being the cause for an issue, just simply re-load and re-install the software and operating system from scratch. If the issue is resolved, we know that we were correct in our assumption of software being the cause of the problem and we have been successful.
If the issue is not resolved after re-loading and re-installing the software and operating systems, then it is pretty safe to assume the issue is hardware related. Unfortunately, as our Apple devices are designed by computer scientists and electrical engineers, we usually are not that equipped to attempt to fix a hardware issue. That’s where Apple Certified Technicians come into play.
After it is determined that hardware failure is the cause of the issue, it is the time to ask some additional questions. Is the device in warranty and is the issue covered by a warranty? If the answer to these two questions is no, then next ask ourselves an additional question… is this issue even worth investing money into resolving? All these questions and many more can be answered by a Apple Certified Technician.
When we experience issues with our Apple devices there is a logical and correct course of action that should be taken to resolve the problem. Neglecting to follow this logical troubleshooting flow can result in taking longer than necessary to come to a resolution.
Hello, Tech Tails readers!
Spring weather is upon us here in Vermont! Or, as it is affectionately known, “Mud Season”. Call me crazy but this is my favorite time of year. Sure, Vermont may be known for our foliage, but the gradual shift from dark and grey to bright and green, the re-emergence of the critters, a few extra moments of sunshine at the end of the day, and the waning need for half a dozen layers gets me all the more stoked for summertime in VT. Perhaps it’s due to the fact I was welcomed into this world during a vernal equinox all those many, many years ago in 1992 (heh). Once the weather hits that 60º mark, I’m ready to call it quits on winter. Art says we’re in for another snow storm soon, but I’m leaning towards an early spring on this one. Sorry, Art.
But enough rambling about the weather!
Last week Apple shared a new support document that’s designed to help App Store and iTunes users avoid phishing emails that fly under the guise of legitimate emails from Apple. Phishing scams and Malware infections are something we in the Service & Repair Department are no strangers to. Unfortunately, at least several times a week, we get folks saying their computers have been “hacked” or have contracted a “virus” after they received an email from “Apple”. Make no mistake, these scammers are ruthless, cunning, and appear to be stepping up their game when it comes to finessing money out of good folks out there. I suggest readers take a few moments to absorb this very helpful support document in order to bolster your chances of not falling victim to one of these scams.
On a brighter note, we’ve got some good material for you this week. I’ve been spending more time in our South Burlington store these days, and, whenever I’m there, I always seem to learn something new about Apple computers. So this week it’s my hope that our friends and fellow technicians, Moses and Justin, can offer up some of their knowledge and teach you something new as they have done for me on so many occasions.
Live long and prosper, Tech Tails readers!
Connor “Mud Season over Spring Skiing” McGinnis
connormcginnis@smalldog.com
